


Ain't No Mountain High Enough

by Ftballfangrl



Series: Kissmas 2019 [1]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:11:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21770296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ftballfangrl/pseuds/Ftballfangrl
Summary: 6 Days of Kissmas - A collection fics based around a kiss prompt & a song lyric.Day 1 - tender eyelid and nose kisses before finally sealing the deal
Relationships: Dele Alli/Eric Dier
Series: Kissmas 2019 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568953
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	Ain't No Mountain High Enough

_ Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you babe. _

If Eric was completely honest he was quite bad at following his own advice. There had been times in the past where he’d had to physically pick Dele up off the floor, take his shoulders in his hands and shake him, all whilst telling him to stop getting inside his own head. He was good at talking about the bigger picture when it came to other people. He could sit them down, reassure them, talk about how there is always a plan in place. And for the most part he could do that for himself as well. He’d been through enough in his career so far to know what football was like. But there were times, like now, when he found it hard. He found it almost impossible to keep his mind clear, to not allow those dark thoughts to creep in. 

_ Eric Dier identified as surplus to requirements by Tottenham Hotspur. _

The words had been rattling around his brain since he’d read the headline on Twitter three days ago. Dele had shouted at him, snatched his phone out of his hand and gripped his wrists, scolding him for even thinking about looking online. They had been in bed after a day of training and Eric had had another one of those conversations that had left him feeling frustrated. He knew what his best position was, he knew he could get back to where he had been. He just hadn’t been able to shake the thought that some important people didn’t feel the same way. When he’d said as much Dele had dropped his gamepad and twisted to face Eric, lifting himself up on his knees. His long fingers had wound around Eric’s wrists again and Eric had huffed when Dele had pulled him forwards, making him sit up level. 

“Stop. Just stop it Eric.” He’d opened his mouth to argue but Dele had shushed him and tightened his grip, fingertips pressing against his pulse. “Those headlines are a load of shit and you know it. You are overthinking that conversation you had today. You are doing exactly what you tell me not to do. Stop it.” 

A small smile crept across Eric’s face as he sat in the darkness of the living room. His legs were stretched out in front of him and he kicked at his trainers, shoving them to one side. He had tried to push the thoughts away. He had tried to just focus on training, preparing for the game. And it had worked, for the most part. He’d had a laugh, learned that he was going to play and the resilient side of him had taken over. He had a job to do and he was going to do it, to the best of his ability. 

Then the game had happened. A soft yellow, a plethora of misplaced passes, a roar in his ears that he just could not shift. What had started off as a day for him to prove his worth had ended with feeling like he was fighting for air, like he was battling against the tide. It hadn’t been a good game for him, he knew that. When the whistle had blown he’d almost wanted to fall to his knees out of sheer relief. He’d caught Dele’s eye and had to look away for fear that he wouldn’t be able to hold back his emotions. To everyone else he was the same old stoic Eric, mr sensible who took everything in his stride. But Dele had known differently, like he always did. He hadn’t shown it in the dressing room apart from giving Eric a squeeze on the shoulder and staying close to him but as soon as they’d got in the car he’d turned to him. 

“It wasn’t as bad as you think.”

“Don’t do that Del, don’t try and play it down.”

“I’m not doing anything other than telling you the truth.”

The rest of the journey home had taken place in stony silence. Eric didn’t mean to snap at Dele but the dark cloud that had been hovering over him had taken over and all he could think about was how it felt like his chances were slipping through his fingers. 

_ The defensive midfielder hasn’t had much game time so far this season and it is rumoured that this is because he is no longer in the long term plan for the club. _

It wouldn’t hurt as much if it didn’t feel like everything was out of his control. The truth was his form had dipped at the end of the season before last, he’d gone to the World Cup and not performed to his best. But then it was all meant to be business as usual and everything had been turned completely upside down. His appendix bursting and the fact his recovery hadn’t been straight forward was still hanging over him and in his darkest moments it felt like he was staring down a road that only ended one way. 

He remembered glancing over at Dele, staring at him for a few seconds as he concentrated on the road and he wished he had offered to drive. Instead he found himself doing the one thing no player should do after a match. He opened Twitter. Even now almost two hours after arriving home the words flashed across his mind. 

_ Dier is donkey, we don’t need him get rid. _

_ Fat bastard needs to get out of my club. _

_ I don’t think he had his appendix removed I think it was his ability to play football. _

Dele had pulled up at their gate and glanced over at him whilst they waited for them to open. His eyes had fallen to his phone and the muscle in his jaw had jumped. “Please don’t do that to yourself Eric. Please,” he had said and the pleading in his tone had made Eric close twitter and shove his phone in his pocket. 

And now here he was, sat in the dark, replaying every little thing he could have done differently. Every pass he could have completed but didn’t, every tackle he could have timed better. Dele had disappeared, Eric hadn’t seen him since they had both trudged through their front door. His stuff was still dumped in the corner, his trainers haphazardly left in the doorway but Eric had no idea what he was doing. They had mumbled between each other about needing to fix some food but Eric had drifted to the living room, to the warm and comfortable solace of the sofa and Dele had wandered out of the room on the phone to Harry. He’d been sat in silence since then. 

He couldn’t blame Dele for staying out of his way. Eric hardly ever slipped into one of these dark moods but when he did it was pretty difficult to shift and Dele knew better than to try and draw him out of it. Sometimes he would stay close, setting up his playstation or putting on one of his stupid films. Sometimes he would leave Eric alone but check in on him, casually walking into the room, making a comment to see how he was doing. And then sometimes he would realise that Eric just needed time. Eric realised that he had been short with Dele in the car but he didn’t need any false positivity. He didn’t need his performance to be dressed up as anything but what it had been and he didn’t need Dele trying to cheer him up. 

Eric shifted, shuffling forward to the edge of the cushion and placed his head in his hands. His elbows pressed into his knees and he pulled at his hair, allowing the pressure to distract him for a few seconds. He stared down at his feet and thought about calling his Mum when the speakers in the ceiling burst into life and the opening chords to a song blasted through them. Heat bloomed in his chest, annoyance spreading through him like fire. What was Dele playing at? Normally the song would draw a smile from Eric but not tonight, no tonight the loudness of it was grating against his nerves. 

He huffed out a breath and pushed himself up, pulling the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands before turning and walking out of the room. The song seemed to get louder as he walked down the hallway to the kitchen door and Eric rolled his eyes. Was this Dele’s way of trying to get a rise out of him? He scuffed his socked feet on the wooden floor as he reached the door. It was closed too and the music was clearly louder in the kitchen, the smooth bass of it vibrating slightly. Eric placed his hand on the door and pushed, drawing in a breath, ready to tell Dele to turn it off. 

The sight that greeted him as the door swung inwards caused the annoyance to drain right out of him. Dele had changed, a pair of shorts hung low on his hips. He was topless and Eric couldn’t help but smile as he watched him wiggle his hips to the music. His back was to the door and he was stood at the counter. Eric could just about make out two bottles and a large tub of protein powder and his chest felt tight as he stepped forward. He could hear Dele’s voice as he sang along, not caring how out of tune he was. He moved slowly, enjoying watching the way Dele’s back muscles moved as he prepared their shakes, the little hip movements making his waist twist. Eric took another step forward and he was so focused on Dele that he didn’t see the bag at his feet. He tripped and lurched forward, the sound making Dele stiffen. Eric straightened up as Dele turned around and he gave him a small smile. Dele’s gaze was soft and a smile of his own played at the corner of his mouth. He glanced up at the ceiling and mouthed a line of the song to Eric before attempting to spin on the spot. His attempt almost ended up with him falling flat on his ass as he got his feet tangled and Eric instinctively reached out to grab his hand. 

Dele’s entwined his fingers with Eric’s and pulled him forwards, yanking at his arm until Eric was standing mere inches away from him. Dele’s smile widened and he danced on the spot, shaking his shoulders, not breaking eye contact with Eric. He knew what he was doing, why he had chosen this song and Eric leaned back against the counter, the edge of the marble pressing into the bottom of his back. He didn’t break his silence, he just stared at Dele, drinking in that twinkle in those big hazel eyes. The emotions from the game, the last couple of weeks, even the whole year swarmed around him and Eric blinked a few times as Dele took a step towards him. He felt fingertips dance against his wrists and he looked down as Dele ran his hands along the inside of his forearms. The song was still playing and Dele lifted his hand up, gripping Eric’s chin between his fingers and thumb. He tilted his head to make him look at him and he stepped forward again, invading all of Eric’s space. 

Eric swallowed as Dele reached down to lean on the counter with his free arm, their faces now inches apart. Dele licked his lips before singing the next few lines of the song softly, his breath tickling Eric’s mouth. “Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you babe.” Eric’s stomach lurched and his chest hurt and he sighed as Dele rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip before cupping his cheek in the palm of his hand. 

“Remember our pact?” Dele asked softly, dipping his head to catch Eric’s eye. Eric nodded in response, angling his head so he could press his lips to the soft skin on Dele’s wrist. The pact had been made around the time the first transfer rumours had started to surround them both. Dele to Barcelona, Eric to United. Bright young football stars destined for better things. Apparently. Eric remembered hearing them, reading about them and wondering what would happen. Him and Dele were just at the beginning of their journey, whatever it was between them still new and undecided. The night that Dele had turned up at his house, wide eyed and a little scared looking crossed his mind and he instinctively reached up and wrapped his hands around Dele’s wrists. They had made a promise to each other then, that no matter what happened, it wouldn’t affect them. That they would always be together, in one way or another. Back then it had been as friends but over the years that had grown to mean so much more and Eric realised that the sheer panic that sometimes seized him in the middle of the night was because the actual thought of having to leave Dele had never felt like a reality, until now. 

A jagged breath escaped the back of Eric’s throat and Dele slipped his hand to the back of Eric’s neck. His thumb caressed the short hairs that dusted his nape and Eric closed his eyes. He couldn’t imagine his life without Dele in it. Couldn’t imagine not waking up to him every day, spending all day with him and then collapsing into bed with him at night. It had always astounded him how quickly he had entered his life and then became it and he didn’t think it was something he would ever get used too. As if sensing his train of thought Dele leaned in, placing a small kiss to the tip of Eric’s nose. Eric held his breath as he felt Dele’s fingertips brush against his cheeks and his lips dusted another two kisses on each of his eyelids. They were soft and tender and as Eric opened his eyes another breath caught in his chest as he met Dele’s stare. 

“No matter when, where or how far,” Dele whispered, caressing Eric’s jaw with his thumb whilst spreading his other hand over Eric’s heart. Eric nodded, unable to find the words that could encompass everything he wanted to say. He didn’t know what was going to happen, what his future might hold. He didn’t know if it was a matter of if or when he would leave Spurs and he didn’t know how quickly that might come around. He didn’t know whether everything could be fixed. But what he did know was that he loved the person stood in front of him more than he loved anything else. He placed his palm on top of Dele’s hand and squeezed. Their foreheads met and Dele whispered “I love you,” as the song started to fade. Eric whispered those three words back and they shared a smile before Dele leaned in and finally captured Eric’s mouth with his. It was a deep kiss, open mouthed and slow. The type of kiss that communicated everything they both wanted to say. Eric pulled Dele close, wrapped one arm around his waist and gripped the back of his neck with the other and he allowed himself to become lost in Dele, to surrender himself completely to the moment. And as Dele raked his hands through his hair and licked into his mouth he made a silent promise to make sure that he would work as hard as he possibly could to make sure that he could stay exactly where he was.

Exactly where he was meant to be. 

  
  



End file.
